Lahore attacks: Indian media derides Pakistani advisory

NEW DELHI: A notification issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ( PEMRA) on Sunday has advised TV channels in that country to be “professional” and “responsible” after the Lahore attacks, adding, “Pakistan needs to follow the example of professional handling of Brussels attacks by international media rather than following the footsteps of Indian media that is driven by crass commercialisation.”

The comparison drew derision from professionals this side of the border. General secretary of the Broadcast Editors’ Association, NK Singh, said a country like Pak that took Geo TV or other channels off air a few months ago had little right to talk of media selfregulation.

PEMRA had suspended the license of Geo TV following a complaint from the Pak defence ministry in 2014. “We are the only country in the world where self-regulation of media has at least some semblance. Selfregulation failed even in England within months,” Singh told ET.

Former I & B secretary Bimal Julka said systems of self-regulation of media in India were robust and that is the way it ought to be. “It is a laughable matter,” said another editor of a news channel.

Omar R Quraishi, the editor of Pakistan’s Digital, Online & Web, ARY News said that in Pakistan TV channels “tend to be criticised often for sensationalism”. Umair Javed, a Pakistani freelance journalist said the coverage of large-scale incidents such as protests and attacks has been poor in Pakistan.